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As
if to underscore the point, Turkey detained 68 suspected terrorists in
sweeps across seven provinces, Anadolu Agency reported Wednesday.

That
included three Russians who were staying at a house in Antalya,
according to an account also reported by Russia's state-run Sputnik
news.

Another 21 people held in
Sanliurfa were "preparing for attacks in Turkey," according to Anadolu
Agency. And 16 people -- 15 of them Syrian -- were detained in Ankara
for allegedly starting to scout out buildings there.

One
of those caught in the security sweep is being held in connection with
the Istanbul blast, according to Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala.

"The examination and investigation continues in multiple ways and in a very serious manner," Ala said.

Another
Turkish official, speaking to CNN on condition of anonymity, said
Turkey -- and the rest of the world -- would never be safe until the
situation in Syria is resolved.

"As
long as there is a training ground for ISIS on the other side of our
border we will continue to have this problem, not only Turkey but Europe
and U.S.," the official said. "Turkey remains committed to its calls
for an ISIL-free zone, a region free of terrorism across its borders."
ISIL is another acronym for ISIS.

The
official said Turkey should try to "drive ISIS into the desert. This
isn't a result of Turkish foreign policy; it's about what's happening in
Syria."

Few details on the bomber

Officials quickly blamed ISIS for the attack.

Seventeen people were wounded; 11 were still hospitalized at midday Wednesday, Turkey's interior minister said.

Nine of those still in the hospital were German, one was Norwegian and the other was from Peru, according to Ala.

Few details have been released about the attacker. He was born in 1988, officials said. He came to Turkey from Syria, registering as a refugee. He was not being tracked by Turkish security.

Targeting Turkey and the world

Street vendors and shopkeepers opened for business Wednesday but had few customers.

A
makeshift memorial appeared at the site of the attack. People laid red
roses in the shadow of the city's world-famous Blue Mosque.

The
suicide bomber detonated his explosives in the midst of a German tour
group made up mostly of retirees, German officials said.

"We have a free society ... but there are people who want us harmed,"
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. "We will persevere."

Still, the attack shocked the nation.

The headline on the German tabloid Bild asked: "Was this a targeted attack on us?"

But Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said there were no indications Germans were singled out.

He encouraged Germans to continue to travel to Turkey. "We don't want to change our behavior," he said.

The
last time Germany experienced such a deadly attack on its citizens was
2002. A suicide attack on a historic synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia,
killed 14 German tourists, three Tunisians and two French citizens.

No
group claimed responsibility for the blast, yet Davutoglu pinned blame
on ISIS, which has entrenched itself in neighboring Syria and Iraq.

"They haven't just targeted those who died," Davutoglu said. "They have targeted the whole of Turkey and the whole world."

Upping the ante

The attack took place in an area heavily guarded by Turkish security forces.

Sajjan Gohel, international security director at the Asia-Pacific Foundation,
thought it was significant that it targeted in a square that is both a
draw for tourists and significant to Turkey's history and its diverse
cultural identity -- the type of place, he said, "that ISIS is so deeply
opposed to."

"The type of monuments
that are in Sultanahmet Square are the type that ISIS has been blowing
up in Syria," Gohel told CNN. "It's seen as a place where you have a
mesh of different entities. It's a real melting pot."

If
Tuesday's blast is confirmed to be the work of the terrorist group,
that will force Ankara to step up its anti-ISIS fight, Gohel said.

"An
attack like this is designed to create economic, political and social
consequences," he told CNN. "Turkey has to realize that the pipeline
that feeds ISIS from Turkey to Syria has to now be cut off, because
incidents like this are not one-offs. This could be part of a series of
plots."

Spilling over

To find the likely source of the violence, one only has to look south to Syria, where a civil war has raged for nearly five years.

The
conflict has claimed more than 250,000 lives, according to the United
Nations. More than half the country's 17 million residents have fled,
and a humanitarian crisis remains for those left behind.

65 photos:The ISIS terror threat

The violence can be blamed on many groups, including forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But ISIS has been behind many of the worst atrocities.

After initially doing little to fight ISIS, Turkey, a member of NATO, has increasingly become engaged in the fight. It has begun allowing the United States to launch strikes
from Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey, and it is trying, too, to
prevent more fighters from going through its territory to join the
group.

ISIS has responded by singling
out Turkey as a primary target, and a recent issue of its Dabiq magazine
had a cover showing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan alongside U.S.
President Barack Obama.

Turkey's
military cooperation with the United States and other NATO nations in
particular has angered ISIS, said Fadi Hakura, associate fellow at
Chatham House, a London-based think tank.

Investigators blamed ISIS for two suicide blasts in October that
hit a lunchtime peace rally in Ankara, in which demonstrators were
calling for an end to the renewed conflict between the PKK and Turkish
government. Those explosions killed as many as 100 people and injured
more than 240 others.

About Me

Betty MacDonald Fan Club, founded by Wolfgang Hampel, has members in 40 countries.
Wolfgang Hampel, author of Betty MacDonald biography interviewed Betty MacDonald's family and friends. His Interviews have been published on CD and DVD by Betty MacDonald Fan Club. If you are interested in the Betty MacDonald Biography or the Betty MacDonald Interviews send us a mail, please.
Several original Interviews with Betty MacDonald are available.
We are also organizing international Betty MacDonald Fan Club Events for example, Betty MacDonald Fan Club Eurovision Song Contest Meetings in Oslo and Düsseldorf, Royal Wedding Betty MacDonald Fan Club Event in Stockholm and Betty MacDonald Fan Club Fifa Worldcup Conferences in South Africa and Germany.
Betty MacDonald Fan Club Honour Members are Monica Sone, author of Nisei Daughter and described as Kimi in Betty MacDonald's The Plague and I, Betty MacDonald's nephew, artist and writer Darsie Beck, Betty MacDonald fans and beloved authors and artists Gwen Grant, Letizia Mancino, Perry Woodfin, Traci Tyne Hilton, Tatjana Geßler, music producer Bernd Kunze, musician Thomas Bödigheimer, translater Mary Holmes and Mr. Tigerli.